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A responsible employment policy is indisputably a factor that can improve competitiveness; it can be a competitive advantage within the region and also within the EU, and it can substantially contribute to the steady expansion of enterprises, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said at the award ceremony of the “Responsible Employer of the Year” title in Budapest.

The Government devotes a lot of efforts to strengthening corporate social responsibility, just as the issue deserves: in the second, upcoming CSR action plan more attention will be paid to economic development, labour issues, equal opportunity and environmental protection, he noted.

The groundwork for stable and sustainable economic growth has been laid down recently, he added.

Since 2010, more than 740 thousand jobs have been created in Hungary, and thus now more than 4 million 450 thousand people are being employed – the highest figure in 27 years.

The bulk of job growth was observed in the private sector. “We have every right to be proud of these achievements, and we can be similarly proud of the fact that – thorough the Job Protection Action — more attention has been paid to vulnerable employee groups”, Mihály Varga pointed out. Under the scheme, in the period 2013-2017 enterprises profited from tax incentives totalling HUF 572bn, which amount helped the employment of more than 900 thousand people per year in the private sector.

As a result of the six-year wage agreement, which has substantially lifted the smallest wages and reduced payroll taxes, the wage gap has been narrowing faster.

The Government is therefore expecting that wages in real terms may gain as much as 40 percent in the next six years, the Minister said.